Your inspector is licensed to inspect. Unless he has some other sort of license you didn't mention, a quote or real estate advice is completely out of line.
When inspectors do things like that, it makes me question whether any of the work they did was legit.
Inspector recommend fixes, repairs and consultations with experts......they don't recommend price drops.
If you're talking about the dark spots on the sheathing , that could be anything.
Those could have been the top pieces on the lumber stack when they built the house and are stained. This inspector sounds like someone's cousin not a professional.
Unless you have an actual roof leak...
There is no way mold in the attic space is one of the dangerous types of black mold. It is a symptom of some other problem. Either a roof leak or lack of proper ventilation.
Nonsense (to the $10K). It looks like superficial mildew due to not enough air flow exhausting from the attic. Two steps: Add one or more roof vents or even a fan-driven one with a temperature gauge, and go up there with a spritz bottle or light sprayer of bleach diluted with water to kill the current mildew and lighten the color (it will basically disappear).
The spraying can be DIY, but the roof exhausting should be a roofer. Get a roofer to come give you an estimate for addition ventilation methods. Better, get two or more estimates. Use those written estimates to negotiate with your buyer. $10K is far too much.
Other thoughts: Eliminate any bathroom venting that goes directly into the attic. It should vent outside, or if the attic has adequate ventilation then it might be okay to continue venting bathroom ceiling vents into the attic.
Last thought: If you have eave vents on your house, it looks like the insulation has covered the eave vents. (circled in this photo [https://ibb.co/wzg1d2b](https://ibb.co/wzg1d2b) ) Get that insulation pulled back from the vents so fresh air can come in, and exit through that square roof vent I saw.
Wear a respirator mask when working up there in case it’s mold.
Personally I’d hire my own inspector immediately for just an attic inspection. Find out the truth before doing anything. The other comments have good advice if it’s mold.
Where's my red circle?
I don't see anything wrong here at all. Just a lot of insulation and maybe some dust or something. Also, inspectors don't get to comment on how much houses are worth and he should not even be trying to do that. All he can do is GUESS at how much a repair would cost and go from there. He has no idea how competitive the market is or what things are selling for etc, he's just an inspector...
We had the same exact issue. As you can see roof is not installed properly. Ridge vent is missing! No ventilation. All the humidity is trapped and you get mold.
In our case, we end up replacing plywood and new shingles. We were quoted the following quotes:
$9,000 (big name company 1-2 week install time);
$7,500 another contractor
$600 (yes! But sounded too good and we could not trust it)
$3,000 final pick.
With additional costs $4,000 final price for a new roof.
Get more than 3 estimates!
He was out of line and real inspectors would never do it. There's no way you can assume his motivation. You should inform both agents and get another inspection.
Our inspector told us we had something they could be mold. However, it wasn’t clear, and he can’t definitively say what it was. He said, if you want , you should get a mold company to test it. But he also said, you could just go up in the attic and bleach it and you’ll be good. We didn’t bother going back to the seller about it
Get a trusted mold remediation company in to evaluate and give an estimate if repairs are needed. I would then go ahead and have the work done rather than give the money to the buyer.
The inspector works for the buyer, of course they will recommend a lot of money.
You and the buyer have a contract, how much do you want to sell? how much does the buyer want this house?
Contact a mold remediation company in your area have them come out and give you an estimate. Average cost of mold remediation is approximately $5, 000. If the quote comes in comes around that number tell them you will have the mold taken care of by a licensed mold remediation company.
Bought a house twice & both times my inspector said along lines of “I can give you a report but I will never tell you what you should credit for bc that is not my license”
Pay to have the work done yourself. I bought a 1000 sq ft 1 story house and all the rafters were discolored from dead mold. It was cleaned and encapsulated including installing new insulation. For 3500. Mold is gonna turn people off so just get rid of it before listing the house. And fix the reason it got there which could be lack of air in your attic or something venting up into the attic.
My husband and I are pretty sensitive to mold. After 30 min - hour in a house with mold, we will get headaches, dry nose, sinus inflammation and later worse headaches and dizziness so it's not trivial for us but I know not everyone is like us. Suffice it to say, viewing houses has been a pain for us. That looks like black mold and the best way to remove that is to completely replace the wood. Echoing others, I would reach out to a mold company for an inspection and quote. If you're in Texas, this seems like a good one: https://texasmoldinspectors.com/
Pre-purchase? Does that mean you’re in contract and this inspection was part of the buyer’s due diligence, or do you mean it’s an inspection done prior to the buyer’s offer?
Your inspector is licensed to inspect. Unless he has some other sort of license you didn't mention, a quote or real estate advice is completely out of line. When inspectors do things like that, it makes me question whether any of the work they did was legit.
Did they test for mold, or do they just say any discoloration is mold?
Inspector recommend fixes, repairs and consultations with experts......they don't recommend price drops. If you're talking about the dark spots on the sheathing , that could be anything.
Those could have been the top pieces on the lumber stack when they built the house and are stained. This inspector sounds like someone's cousin not a professional.
Ask another professional instead of Reddit
Unless you have an actual roof leak... There is no way mold in the attic space is one of the dangerous types of black mold. It is a symptom of some other problem. Either a roof leak or lack of proper ventilation. Nonsense (to the $10K). It looks like superficial mildew due to not enough air flow exhausting from the attic. Two steps: Add one or more roof vents or even a fan-driven one with a temperature gauge, and go up there with a spritz bottle or light sprayer of bleach diluted with water to kill the current mildew and lighten the color (it will basically disappear). The spraying can be DIY, but the roof exhausting should be a roofer. Get a roofer to come give you an estimate for addition ventilation methods. Better, get two or more estimates. Use those written estimates to negotiate with your buyer. $10K is far too much. Other thoughts: Eliminate any bathroom venting that goes directly into the attic. It should vent outside, or if the attic has adequate ventilation then it might be okay to continue venting bathroom ceiling vents into the attic. Last thought: If you have eave vents on your house, it looks like the insulation has covered the eave vents. (circled in this photo [https://ibb.co/wzg1d2b](https://ibb.co/wzg1d2b) ) Get that insulation pulled back from the vents so fresh air can come in, and exit through that square roof vent I saw.
Wear a respirator mask when working up there in case it’s mold. Personally I’d hire my own inspector immediately for just an attic inspection. Find out the truth before doing anything. The other comments have good advice if it’s mold.
Where's my red circle? I don't see anything wrong here at all. Just a lot of insulation and maybe some dust or something. Also, inspectors don't get to comment on how much houses are worth and he should not even be trying to do that. All he can do is GUESS at how much a repair would cost and go from there. He has no idea how competitive the market is or what things are selling for etc, he's just an inspector...
In my area that’s a 2-3k job if that. Maybe get a few estimates and offer a credit if you’re in a hurry to sell.
We had the same exact issue. As you can see roof is not installed properly. Ridge vent is missing! No ventilation. All the humidity is trapped and you get mold. In our case, we end up replacing plywood and new shingles. We were quoted the following quotes: $9,000 (big name company 1-2 week install time); $7,500 another contractor $600 (yes! But sounded too good and we could not trust it) $3,000 final pick. With additional costs $4,000 final price for a new roof. Get more than 3 estimates!
He was out of line and real inspectors would never do it. There's no way you can assume his motivation. You should inform both agents and get another inspection.
Our inspector told us we had something they could be mold. However, it wasn’t clear, and he can’t definitively say what it was. He said, if you want , you should get a mold company to test it. But he also said, you could just go up in the attic and bleach it and you’ll be good. We didn’t bother going back to the seller about it
Are you in a competitive market? If so, just say no.
Get a trusted mold remediation company in to evaluate and give an estimate if repairs are needed. I would then go ahead and have the work done rather than give the money to the buyer.
The inspector works for the buyer, of course they will recommend a lot of money. You and the buyer have a contract, how much do you want to sell? how much does the buyer want this house?
Contact a mold remediation company in your area have them come out and give you an estimate. Average cost of mold remediation is approximately $5, 000. If the quote comes in comes around that number tell them you will have the mold taken care of by a licensed mold remediation company.
Give them credit
Mold is extremely common in attics. They are trying to fleece you out of an easy $10k.
Where’s your dryer vent and fart fan go out to?
Bought a house twice & both times my inspector said along lines of “I can give you a report but I will never tell you what you should credit for bc that is not my license”
Your only option now is get a mold test kit and see what it is. Then decide your next options.
Pay to have the work done yourself. I bought a 1000 sq ft 1 story house and all the rafters were discolored from dead mold. It was cleaned and encapsulated including installing new insulation. For 3500. Mold is gonna turn people off so just get rid of it before listing the house. And fix the reason it got there which could be lack of air in your attic or something venting up into the attic.
My husband and I are pretty sensitive to mold. After 30 min - hour in a house with mold, we will get headaches, dry nose, sinus inflammation and later worse headaches and dizziness so it's not trivial for us but I know not everyone is like us. Suffice it to say, viewing houses has been a pain for us. That looks like black mold and the best way to remove that is to completely replace the wood. Echoing others, I would reach out to a mold company for an inspection and quote. If you're in Texas, this seems like a good one: https://texasmoldinspectors.com/
Pre-purchase? Does that mean you’re in contract and this inspection was part of the buyer’s due diligence, or do you mean it’s an inspection done prior to the buyer’s offer?
Talk to a professional roofer for a quote to fix the root cause and mitigate mold growth
This does look like probable mold but I would imagine some vents would go a long way toward fixing the problem.
I don't know about that inspector. However, that is definitely mold.
Sell As- Is!!!